Natural resources are back on the agenda. After the rise of new economic powers such as China, India, and Brazil, global competition has perceptibly increased strategic concerns as regards high commodity prices and possible supply shortages. Germany, the EU, the United States, and many others have formulated raw material strategies that put concern over access and supply at center stage – but the environmental and the socio-political dimensions are widely neglected in these strategies.

This paper underlines a new dimension of international relations and pleads for new approaches, called international resource politics, which can be used for ongoing debates concerning green economy and transition strategies.

Table of contents:

7 Foreword

9 Executive Summary

13 Introduction

17 Critical resources in a green economy

34 A landscape of actors and interests for critical resources

43 Normative principles for fair and sustainable international resource politics